The next item on the agenda
agenda is Senate Bill 114.
Senator Robertson, you're
back up again. You still you want
to take the podium or, you know,
we'd be glad to get you on TV.
From here. But I want to echo the.
Minority leaders words if the
interested parties would have gotten
down and and sat down each other
and worked out these issues starting
back in the last administration
in the current administration.
I think there's a there's
a serious possibility that we would
not be here today and we would
not be voting on this legislation.
I'm I'm afraid you know my my colleague
who was not here several years ago that
I that I wish would have been here maybe.
He would have been able to get
those interested parties to sit
down and talk about that.
And I'm a little disheartened when I,
when I hear that we may pass
legislation that will encourage,
encourage movements,
encourage citizens to stand
up for themselves,
encourage those who feel they're being
disenfranchised and ignored by local
legislators to to go out there and
have to stand up for themselves and
fight for whatever they believe is right.
And I think whatever they believe is
right has the DNA of their particular.
Community as as what they feel should
be done by their elected officials.
Too many times inside this building
and especially outside this
building and local communities,
elected officials forget who they work for.
So when movements happen that remind
elected officials who the real bosses are,
then I have to support that.
But I do agree with the Minority Leader
that these interested parties should have
sat down and have these conversations.
And when I ask about that
three different times.
I've never got an affirmative
action from the executive branch
and so therefore I would encourage
the Members of this committee to
please support a Do pass motion on
SB114. Yeah. That would be
LC 472223 ERS, the Madam leader.
I'm further disappointed that.
A member that does not
represent this district.
Should not have interest in Buckhead.
Live someplace else totally different.
Would have so much interest
in moving a city forward
without having that. Hands on.
Interest. It was sometime in the
past when someone tried to do
something in my district that
did not live in my district.
And it was found that they could not.
Make changes in a district that
they did not represent.
And so I'm. Obviously going to
vote against this legislation.
Thank you, Madam leader.
Senator Estevez, you had a.
Yeah, I appreciate the
majority whips comments.
I would respectfully submit that
the people in my community has,
they have spoken when they elected me.
That's exactly why I'm here.
And when you look at the numbers
in this proposed annexed area,
you'll see that aside from
US Senator Raphael Warnock.
I received.
I was one of the top vote getters,
more than Governor Kemp,
more than Lieutenant Governor Duncan.
More than any other Republican that was on
the ballot on that during that election.
So the people have spoken,
which is why I'm here speaking
to you and to my colleagues.
What is happening today is that my
constituents are being forced to
eat 1/2 baked pie we talk about.
The plans that have been in place
and years of planning in the making.
But it is clear that the proponents
of this bill have no plan for the
debt obligations that currently
exist with the City of Atlanta.
They have no plan for the 8000
children that are in Atlanta Public
Schools in the North Atlanta Cluster,
5000 of whom would be in limbo
because this bill,
according to our own attorneys,
does not address Atlanta Public Schools.
So the fact that we are forcing
upon my constituents,
who who duly elected me just a few
months ago to represent their concerns,
is a problem and something that
we should be concerned about.
Regardless of whether you represent
Buckhead or if you represent
anywhere else in the state,
this should not be happening where the
the voices of a few are are overshadowing.
The will of many.
So with that, I encourage my
colleagues to listen to our lawyers.
Both.
Inside the Capitol,
and those who represent others
outside the Capitol,
that there are problems with this bill.
There's a reason.
That it is 2223 ERS.
It's an external document language that
was brought from outside the Capitol.
There are problems inherent
with this bill that we need to
address before this moves forward,
which is why I asked my colleagues,
respectfully, to vote no.
Or Nah.
Thank you, Senator, Esteban said.
The Senate Bill 114 lies before us.
Is there a motion on the bill?
Move. To pass.
This is their second second.
There's motion in a second.
The all in favor, please.
Which from the second. I'm sorry,
it doesn't show up up here.
So just everybody knows so the if you
you need me you you get eye contact.
So I'm with you, coach I got you.
All right. Put me
in the game. You're up next.
Just a point of discussion on LC 472223 ERS.
I know a lot of conversations
been had about city of Atlanta.
Where would be on tax collections,
the municipal option sales
tax and I know chair McGinn,
you're particularly familiar with
the local option sales tax and
I've not heard anybody talk about
engaging with Fulton County because
for any new city created it would
come from their portion of the lost.
And I know that they have some
significant interest as I followed
loss this past year looking at what
they were going to do and build
with their revenue projections,
which I'm sure they going to
have some revenue bonds.
On these lost revenues that they hope
to collect to build infrastructure
throughout Fulton County and a new
city would impact that because the
new City of Buckhead would have
to come from a share of their loss
for any new city created comes
from the counties portion.
And not only will the city
of Atlanta be impacted,
but we also impact Fulton County.
And so I think we should have a
hard look at all the people at
the table who are going to have
to foot the bill for this thing.
And when we think about legislation
and we think about a bill like this,
as I have said in the capital many times,
I'm not from Atlanta, I'm from Savannah,
I'm down I-16.
But coming down I16I represent
four of the municipalities.
And if somebody had an issue
in one of my largest cities,
which is the city of Savannah,
and they said, well,
we're going to start a city,
I wonder the implications of those
who start the city and those who
leave from the city and where would
that put them on tax collections and.
Different things.
And do we have to come back and
fix a mess that we maybe didn't
have to create and so it's easy.
To look at this and say we're
gonna solve all of the problems,
but I assure my colleagues,
crime won't be solved tomorrow.
The issues that have been raised about
Buckhead won't be solved tomorrow.
In fact,
they're going to take some time
because when you start a new city,
you're going to have to get it
off the ground and get it see
legs and get it standing up.
And what are you going to do in the meantime?
So it's not going to just change overnight.
So I urge you to vote no on this and I
will tell you this, an ounce of prevention.
Is worth more than a pound of cure,
and I assure you of that.
Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
Thank you, senator. Sorry. So dressed
they we we need to make it quick.
I've got another bill we got to get through.
I'd like to
make a motion
to amend to allow all eligible voters
in the city of Atlanta to vote on this
referendum, given the nature of the
financial impact that it would have on
the entire city, Mr. Chairman. 2nd.
We have a motion and a second,
all in favor of the motion.
That's which is is.
Quite honestly, we we got a motion
on the floor that that's the one now
I'm not going to hear that motion.
I'm sorry. Yeah, I can't hear that motion.
I've already got a motion and 2nd on forward.
So we're going to vote on.
LC-2223 ERS. It's an all in favor,
please second five by raising your hand.
Four in favor, opposed.
3 opposed said the motion carries.
They thank you. I just followed her.
Some guy named Robert came up with
some rules that we need to follow.